Political Economy, Political Theory and History

Why democracy is still in danger in Greece

Ten days after the murder of Pavlos Fyssas, the ND-PASOK pro-austerity government arrested most of the Golden Dawn leadership on the grounds of being a criminal organization. Yet, for a combination of economic and political reasons, democracy in Greece is in more danger today than ever before.

Under the yoke of the troika (ECB, IMF and the EU), the ND-PASOK government has created social havoc, presumably, to lead Greece out of the debt-trap: severe wage cuts, lay-offs, extra taxation have placed the country in a state of emergency on the altar of debt repayment and bank recapitalisation by the ECB and IMF. Thus, official unemployment is almost 30%, with youth unemployment over 60% and a GDP contraction of over 5% per year. Even so, recently, Klaus Regling, managing director of the ESM (European Stability Mechanism), said that the Greek government’s plan…